Aggravation
by MerTrexTer
Summary: Agravaine wanted to prove himself to Morgana, to show he was worthy of her affections. He was after the sorcerer who thwarted Morgana's plans one too many times. He was going to kill Merlin.
1. Hunting

**AN: I don't own Merlin or any part of it, but I'm sure you already knew that. Enjoy!**

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He was going to have to kill Merlin, that much was clear to Agravaine.

Agravaine watched from his perch behind a large tree. The tall, lanky servant was rifling through the bags and packs strapped to the horses, no doubt scrambling to find whatever he was looking for before Arthur could reprimand him. The servant finally surfaced with a waterskin and hurried over to the impatient King, insults already gracing his lips.

"_Mer_lin, how long does it take an idiot to fetch a waterskin?"

"How should I know? You always make _me_ do it."

Agravaine could hear them arguing faintly from his place behind the trees, but his mind was somewhere else entirely. Morgana.

She counted on him to be her eyes and ears inside the kingdom. She depended on him to carry out the tasks that were necessary to Camelot's downfall from within. He was her right-hand man, her emissary. He pledged allegiance to her wholeheartedly, and Agravaine couldn't help but think that he didn't get enough credit for it all. He couldn't help but think that Morgana always wanted more from him. And he couldn't help but notice that everything he did wasn't enough for her.

But she was Morgana, so he accepted it. Her icy blue eyes held more warmth than many realized. She was on fire, and Agravaine saw her for what she was: enchanting.

He was quickly brought out of his reverie by the thundering gallops of two horses receding into the distance. Merlin and Arthur were on the move. Agravaine promptly mounted his own horse and made to follow, being careful to keep a considerable amount of distance between them.

They were on their way back to Camelot after a day's worth of unsuccessful hunting. Trailing Arthur and Merlin's every move wasn't as difficult a feat as he thought it would be. What with Merlin crashing through the trees and the King's snide comments, there was no game to be hunted. Agravaine was starting to wonder why he even followed them. He was looking for the perfect opportunity, the perfect time to take out Morgana's biggest threat.

Morgana did not know, however, of Agravaine's newfound task.

_I must prove myself to her,_ he thought. _She must know the extent of my loyalty._

Morgana thought Merlin to be a thorn in her side; nothing more, nothing less. He was just a serving boy with a caustic demeanor in her eyes. He was defiant, and irritatingly loyal to Camelot, what it stood for, and the young Pendragon King himself. No matter what Morgana did, he was incessantly at Arthur's side fighting for the future of the kingdom.

This just confused Agravaine, for there was one reason why he had begun hunting Merlin. Merlin was more than just an obstacle on the path to the throne of Camelot. There was a reason he kept slipping through Morgana's clutches.

Merlin had magic.

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**AN: Longer chapters are to come! Please review! I'd love to hear your thoughts! **

**Til' then, MerTrexTer :D**


	2. Round Table

**AN: Sorry for such a long wait (you forgot what this story was about, didn't you xD it's okay. I'll wait here patiently while you skim through Chapter 1 again) I clawed my way through finals this week and tomorrow's my first day of summer! YESSS!**

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Arthur sat at the round table, surrounded by the most courageous of Camelot. Sir Leon stood at his seat, having just finished giving the weekly reports as always. He stood, waiting for a response from Arthur, a dismissal at the least. But Arthur was lost in his own thoughts.

Finally, he broke the silence.

"Is there any word on Morgana? Her whereabouts?"

Leon was quick to respond. "No, Sire. There have been no sightings." He paused. "In fact, there's been nothing."

"Exactly." Arthur's gaze travelled to the Knights of the roundtable. "While this peace is more than welcomed, I fear it will be short-lived. Morgana is up to something. And while I don't know what, Sir Leon, I want to double the patrol during the night, just to be safe."

Agravaine looked on during the exchange, smug in his own way. Morgana wasn't planning something because Morgana had nothing to scheme about. After convincing Morgana her attacks against Arthur were nothing but futile, Agravaine had managed to focus her attention on recruiting more sorcerers rather than the throne of Camelot, a difficult feat in itself.

Agravaine needed to concentrate on Merlin without Morgana practically breathing down his neck. And as he looked over Arthur's shoulder to the servant standing in the shadows, he felt no regrets about what he was doing.

___It will all be over soon,__ he thought as Arthur droned on about Camelot's safety. ____Merlin deserves this._

Merlin wavered on his feet. These roundtable meetings were all the same anymore. Merlin noticed that Arthur took his observation to heart, however; Morgana was no where to be seen. Why? Merlin did not know. All he knew was that he would much rather be sitting with Gaius trying to figure out Morgana's next move than stand here and do nothing.

But here he was, standing on his aching feet, holding a water jug with his quivering hand, and doing nothing.

Merlin sighed and looked about the room. The sun was setting, painting the room a dusty red. His eyes travelled to the door he so much wanted to walk out of, and to the guards standing stoically at their threshold.

The guards…

Why were they looking at him?

Merlin quickly straightened. Had he offended them in some way?

___By looking around a room?__ He thought.____ I don't think so._

He let his eyes wander over to the doors again. They were still staring at him, and making no effort to hide it.

But what could he do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Because at the end of the day, he was a servant, and they were the guards.

He tried to focus on the conversation before him between Arthur and Leon. By now, the sun was streaming through the glass, glaring directly in his eyes. Merlin could tell the meeting was just about over, and he could nearly taste the freedom.

Suddenly, a sweaty hand clamped over his mouth while two more pried his arms behind his back. The water jug was sent crashing to the floor.

But not before a crude dagger was thrust into Merlin's side.

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**AN: You can thank my sister for forcing me to update this story tonight. I was going to do it anyways...fyi. **

**Longer chapters are to come. I'm still trying to find my niche :)**

**Not sure when my next update will be. Probably sometime after Sunday. My sister (KnightOwl17) and I are planning/hosting our other sister's baby shower Sunday. These next couple days are going to be full of last minute cramming haha!**

**I hope you guys are enjoying the start of your summer! Please don't hesitate to review! **

**Til' then, MerTrexTer :D**


	3. The Dagger

**AN: Yikes! I did not intend to update so late! It was unintentional, believe me. More on that at the end of the chapter...**

**I don't own Merlin or the characters. I do, however, own the plot of this story. So take that BBC! **

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The room went silent, but not for long.

"Merlin!" Arthur called. He spotted the two guards retreating hastily into the shadows of the throne room. "Seize them!"

The knights had unsheathed their swords, already rushing to circle the two guards that had dropped Merlin, dagger and all, to the ground. Their vicious sneers were enough for Gwaine and Elyan to raise their swords to the men's throats as they ushered them to the cells.

"Merlin!" Arthur cried again, kneeling next to his manservant. "_Mer_lin!"

Merlin was clutching the handle of the dagger that was still embedded in his side, blood beginning stain its way through his jacket. His medical training, as limited as it was, was enough to remind him to leave the blade in, as much as he wanted to rip it out.

He was quickly turning pale.

And Arthur did not know what to do.

"Gaius…..get me to Gaius," Merlin gasped. He turned his gaze to his side, mystified by the sight of it, before looking back at Arthur.

He was in shock, the pain of the wound yet having no effect on him.

Arthur had been in countless battles before, Merlin always at his side. He had seen his enemies fall, his knights as well. He had seen Merlin wounded before, on the brink of death even, but nothing compared to the dreadful feeling that was building up inside of him now. This attack was unexpected, to say the least. And Arthur couldn't help but feel vulnerable himself as he assessed the situation before him.

For this attack was in Camelot, by Camelot's trusted guard, right under Arthur's nose.

"Y-you may be a prat, _Sire_, bu-but now would b-be nice," he shuddered.

The King snapped his head up. Merlin needed to get to Gaius now or else-

Or else-

Arthur didn't want to think about that. He needed someone's, anyone's, help.

So he searched for the closest pair of hands, grateful that they weren't that far away.

"Uncle!"

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Agravaine resisted the urge to roll his eyes, for it was just his luck to have Arthur call to _him_ for help with _Merlin. "Might as well let him die right here," _he thought. But he needed to keep up this façade that had become his life in Camelot.

"Arthur?!"

"We need to get to Gaius. Here-" The King took ahold of one of Merlin's arms and pulled him up, despite the painful gasps and cries coming from the manservant. Agravaine draped Merlin's other arm around his shoulder and they set off to the physician's chambers.

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After dropping a delirious Merlin and a concerned Arthur off with Gaius, Agravaine marched his way to the cells. He dismissed the guards outside of the cell with a nod and a trite excuse for his presence, something with the words "King Arthur" in it. As the guards shuffled away, Agravaine let his mask wither away until it was his cold, bitter glare that cut right through the bars and into the eyes of the two men in question. He was beginning to regret his decision to choose them to kill Merlin, considering how sloppy and careless they were.

"You stupid_ fools!_" he harshly whispered. "I told you to get _rid_ of him, not to make a _scene_ out of it!"

The taller of the two stepped forward and met Agravaine's malice with his own.

"No. You told us to take care of it. And we did." He stared at Agravaine with a deadly stare, as if he wished he still had that dagger…

"In front of the King and the Knights?! Do you _really_ think that a dagger will kill him?! Gaius is already treating him as we speak!" Agravaine ran a hand through his hair as he began pacing outside of the bars.

Heinous chuckles began to emanate from the other man hiding in the shadows. They grew in strength as he rose to meet Agravaine. "Do you really think it was just an ordinary dagger? Hm?"

Agravaine was speechless.

"Don't be so quick to judge us. That _dagger_," he sneered, "was coated in poison."

"What are you saying?" The hope is Agravaine's chest began to bubble up. Could this ploy to kill Merlin possibly still work?

"What I'm saying is….the poison is deadly."

He paused, giving Agravaine a wicked smile.

"What I'm saying is that our little sorcerer will not live to see another day."

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**AN: This chapter was really difficult to write, and it's not like I wrote a lot either! Between making changes to the plot, catering to life's challenges and just thinking a lot about everything, I've finally decided to sit down and finish this chapter! **

**I'm trying to focus this story more on Agravaine than Merlin and Arthur and their amazing friendship. But there will be some whump in the next chapter because I believe whump makes the Fanfic world go round' :D (But that's just me...)**

**During my break I read a lot of Fanfics, so chances are, I probably read yours too :) I think my main source of encouragement was the reviews, so please feel free to leave one! Oh and also, You're the Voice by John Farnham definitely played a role in this update (I've probably listened to it over 30 times today...just a little FYI...lol) That song should really be the fandom's anthem!**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't worry, I haven't given up on this story :)**

**Til' then, ****MerTrexTer :D**


	4. Poison

**AN: I've been sitting on this chapter a while now because I wasn't completely sure if I wanted to end it where I did. After much deliberating, however, I came to the conclusion to just post this chapter as is. So, here you guys go! **

**Just as much as I personally hate reading/writing disclaimers, they're a necessary evil. *sigh* So...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.**

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Arthur stared at the bloodied dagger laid on the table. Hard as he tried, Arthur couldn't shake the feeling that the blade was staring right back at him, mocking him. Gaius had been patching Merlin up for the past hour or so while questioning Arthur relentlessly about what had happened.

Truth was that Arthur wasn't _sure_ what had happened. One moment he was speaking to his Knights and the next his manservant was laying on the floor in a growing puddle of blood. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Merlin was attacked within Camelot, let alone a council meeting! The incident was enough to unnerve him, to say the least. Two of Camelot's guard had had hidden agendas. Who else did?

By now, Gaius was cleaning up the soaked bandages and rags around the room. His brow was furrowed as he was deep in thought, mulling over the situation just as much as the King.

"Gaius?" Arthur breathed, careful not to disturb the now-sleeping Merlin. "Will he be alright?"

"I'm not sure, Sire," Gaius answered. When he began to treat Merlin, the boy had developed a rising fever. But it was when his body started to tremble that Gaius became even more concerned. This was more than just a stabbing. He knew there was something missing, but he didn't need the King idling around his chambers while he tried to narrow the possibilities of just _what._

Before Arthur could ask him more questions, Gaius continued. "Sire, this has been a trying day for us all. You should retire for the night. There's nothing we can do now except wait."

Arthur nodded. "Let me know if there's any change, Gaius."

"Certainly, Sire."

Arthur gave the ailing Merlin and the worrisome Gaius one last glance before turning and walking out of the physician's chambers.

What he wouldn't give to get his hands on the two traitors wasting away in the dungeons below his feet…

He _was_ the one who would soon decide their fate, so he at least took solace in that.

But still…it wasn't the same.

If only he wasn't King for just one small moment.

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Gaius picked up the dagger on the table. If he was right, the blade held the answer to Merlin's current state.

Merlin had all the tell-tale signs of poisoning, but his symptoms were intensified. His condition was declining by the minute. Since Arthur had taken his leave not a moment ago, Merlin's breathing became more laborious, leaving him trembling even more with his shuddering breaths.

This poison was different, somehow; definitely a poison Gaius wasn't familiar with. Perhaps it was a poison derived from magic itself. If that was the case, there was only one way to fight magic.

Gaius set down the dagger and yanked his stack of spell books towards him. His magic was about as weak as his old bones. But he had to try if it meant saving Merlin and all the greatness the boy was destined for. He flipped open the most promising of the books and began scanning the pages for a cure.

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Arthur sat at his desk going over several reports on recent patrols through Camelot. _Still no sign of Morgana,_ he thought. He was beyond frustrated. There was no way he could know her next move; no way to prepare against the perils of magic and sorcery and no true way to protect Camelot and its people.

He sighed as he brought his hands to his face, blocking the morning sun from his view.

Arthur hadn't gotten much sleep the previous evening after he left Merlin, choosing to spend his time reading reports until the sun rose. He needed to keep himself busy to avoid thinking about yesterday's events, but he couldn't put the thoughts off for much longer. After all, today was the day he would face _them,_ the pair that brought this whole thing about.

The King was brought out of his reverie by a knock at his door. "Enter," he ordered.

He had to admit his heart fell a little when he didn't see Merlin's goofy grin as the door swung open.

"Gaius?!" Arthur wasn't expecting to see the physician so soon, which led him to some conclusions he had hoped he didn't have to make.

"Merlin? Is he-?" He couldn't find it in himself to finish.

"My Lord," Gaius began. "Merlin lives."

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**AN: So another Chapter is done! Yay! Sorry for the irregular updates. I'll admit to having a bad case of writer's block recently. Don't worry though, I'm not abandoning this story! I know what I want to write, I just don't know how! You fellow fictioners know how it goes, right? Lol**

**Anyways, please feel free to leave a review! I reply to all of my reviews so don't think it'll go unnoticed! And to my guest reviewers (there's a few of you!), thanks for all the kind words! They really keep me going :)**

**Also, thanks for all the story favorites and follows. Those definitely don't go unnoticed either! **

**If you haven't checked out my sister's (KnightOwl17) stories already, YOU SHOULD! If you like my story, you'll definitely LOVE hers! **

**Til' then, MerTrexTer :D**


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